You likely know that, alongside his wife Michele Singer Reiner,* Rob Reiner died violently on December 14 of this year. He left behind a shattered family, a battalion of whys, and a legacy that ended in tragedy. As time goes on, we won’t want the details of the murders, but we’ll get them anyway. 

Right now, though, I’m not interested in motives or forensic details. For the purposes of this piece, I’m not going to focus on his work in television, particularly the iconic sitcom All in the Family. Though that work alone could be the subject of a considerable piece, just like a piece about his extensive political activism, or his extensive work as an actor.**

I’m a movie guy, at the end of the day. It only makes sense for us to focus on Reiner’s movies. We’re not going to get into the political rom-com The American President,*** the old men being wacky comedy The Bucket List, or the…well, let’s go with “misguided” bomb North. Instead, let’s focus on a string of films he made from 1984 to 1992. It’s a series of films where nearly every one is a classic, all are made with care and humanity, and it boggles the mind to think that the same person made each one. They are:

• 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap – I wouldn’t say Reiner invented the mockumentary genre, but he undoubtedly perfected it. His directorial debut is filled with observant comedy that never tips into cruelty, and moments indelibly burned into our culture. People who have never seen this movie know the line, “This one goes to eleven.”
• 1985’s The Sure Thing – The 80s were lousy with horny teenager movies. While movies like Porky’s and Revenge of the Nerds were crass at best and rapey at worst, Reiner made a smart and sensitive comedy about real love blooming in real life.
• 1986’s Stand By Me – Reiner’s first adaptation of Stephen King’s work didn’t feature a nexus of all realities or an extraterrestrial clown. Instead, it follows the adventures of four twelve-year-old friends in the summer of 1959. They set out to find a dead body. What they discover are a series of friendships that will last a lifetime.
• 1987’s The Princess Bride – Reiner made one of the rare movies that’s literally perfect. A cast that profoundly understands the material, material that’s simultaneously mocking and sincere, and direction that lightly skips through this fractured fairy tale. Maybe you don’t like it, and you feel like it’s overrated? All I can say is that you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
• 1989’s When Harry Met Sally – In one of the great, if not greatest rom-coms, Reiner focused on the question of if women and men can ever truly be friends. The film features a script by GOAT Nora Ephron, god-tier performances by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, and a scene at Katz’s Delicatessen that will get you 86d if you try to re-enact it in public.
• 1990’s Misery – Reiner followed up his hit about attraction with a very different movie about attraction! His second collaboration with both Stephen King and GOAT screenwriter William Goldman showed us that Reiner’s timing with horror was just as sharp as his timing for comedy. In Annie Wilkes, he also showed audiences what modern fandom would devolve into. It might be the best King adaptation.
• 1992’s A Few Good Men – Reiner apparently wasn’t satisfied making arguably the greatest examples of mockumentary, coming of age drama, fantasy, rom-com, and horror. He turned his attention toward adapting a legal drama based on a well-received play. The end result was a film with a preposterously stacked cast, a razor-sharp script, four Academy Award nominations, and a powerhouse finale with Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson going head to head.

There’s a lot I could say about Rob Reiner, a lot more, that is. But if you want to understand him without the benefit of having known him, watch his films. You’ll learn he’s someone with a sense of humor as sharp as his intelligence. You’ll learn that, in the literal sense of the term, he was a humanist. He made the world a little better, which is all that can be asked of any of us.

*We’re here to talk about Rob Reiner, but it bears mentioning that Michele Singer Reiner was an accomplished producer, and was the co-president of Castle Rock Entertainment. She was also an experienced photographer, and among other works, took the cover photo for “The Art of the Deal.” Interesting that in his infamous online rant about the murders, President Trump couldn’t be bothered to extend sympathy to the woman who took the picture that made him an icon.

**Reiner might be the secret weapon of The Wolf of Wall Street.

***You might give it a watch, particularly Michael Douglas’ monologue in the final scene. Feels somewhat relevant to this moment in time. 

Tim Brennan Movie Critic

Tim has been alarmingly enthusiastic about movies ever since childhood. He grew up in Boulder and, foolishly, left Colorado to study Communications in Washington State. Making matters worse, he moved to Connecticut after meeting his too-good-for-him wife. Drawn by the Rockies and a mild climate, he triumphantly returned and settled down back in Boulder County. He's written numerous screenplays, loves hiking, and embarrassed himself in front of Samuel L. Jackson. True story.